Briton Named to Top Spy Post Gave Disputed Iraq Arms Data

A career spy who presided over and approved a much-disputed British government dossier that asserted that Iraq had unconventional weapons was named Thursday as the next chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6, Britain’s equivalent of the C.I.A. The spy, John Scarlett, 55, is currently chairman of the government’s Joint Intelligence Committee. In that role, he oversaw the compilation of the dossier, which was released in September 2002. The weapons have not been found, and it appears now that British and American intelligence officials relied on faulty information. The move was immediately criticized by Prime Minister Tony Blair’s political opponents, who said that the government should wait until it completes its inquiry into how possibly erroneous intelligence was used to justify Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war before allowing Mr. Scarlett’s appointment to go ahead. Full Story

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